Service
Ronald McDonald House - Done In A Day
Saturday, March 23, 2024
Once again, we were under the wonderful direction of Chef A'Nyssa at Ronald McDonald House Lurie. This time we made Kung Pao Chicken, pot stickers, salt and pepper broccoli, white rice, and garden salad. Our cooking was well received, and we saw many families during serving hours. The House near Lurie Children's Hospital is a 16-story building with 80 rooms for families. Ronald McDonald House exists, so families can get better together. Our Saturday night meal allowed families to eat together without the stress of cooking or the expense of dining out.
Thank you to the volunteers who helped: Gavin and Sean Durkin; Mary and Harry McCabe; Ian, Jen and Heath Mielke, Brian and Barb Webster, and Mark Grippando.
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Done In A Day: Sharing Connections 2024-Jan
Tuesday, January 23, 2024
The Rotary Club of Downers Grove spent the evening at Sharing Connections building dressers. Sharing Connections enables families and businesses to share their gently used furniture, household items and clothing with families needing assistance. The Rotary Club of Downers Grove was able to make an impact by purchasing and assembling dressers to make a difference in the life of families..jpeg)
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Hat, Glove, Scarf and Socks Drive
DEADLINE NEAR!Sponsored by the Lisle Rotary Club, our member Cathy Mead is organizing for us a Hat, Glove, Scarf and Socks Drive. Donations will go to DuPagePads to help the homeless keep warm in the upcoming cold months. You can drop off your donations to Cathy at our meetings or her Baird & Warner office, 724 Ogden Ave. Please only donate hats, gloves, scarves or socks in new or gently used condition.
Stand Down Event for Homeless Veterans
Thursday, November 16, 2023
By: Dr Barbara R Webster
Courtney Sustr, Keith Hoffman and Barb Webster volunteered at the annual Stand Down event for homeless veterans on Thursday, November 16th. Rotarians from District 6450 came together at the Armory in Humboldt Park (corner of Kedzie and North Avenue) to help the veterans choose a new or gently used winter coat. The Stand Down Day is very well-attended by the veterans as it is a multi-purpose event attempting to connect the veterans with social services, medical screenings, mental health programs, meals and winter clothing. Many additional agencies and volunteer groups were key to making this day a success. We spoke with Pat Merryweather (Rotary Club of Naperville) about getting an earlier start for the 2024 Stand Down so that we could make a concerted effort to gather new and gently used winter coats for the Stand Down and provide more volunteers at the actual event.
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Halloween Window Painting!
Rotary members are still needed to volunteer for Halloween Window Painting, our second October Done In A Day project.Volunteers Needed!
Friday, October 20th - 4:00 - 5:00 pm Window Striping
Saturday, October 21st - 8:30 am - 10:30 am
Saturday, October 21st - 10:30 am - 12:30 pm
Contact Barb Webster or Ann Hattan if you can help.
Hosted by our Club and the Downers Grove Downtown Management Corp, families are encouraged to bring a canned goods donation for the Downers Grove Area FISH in exchange for paints.
And, on Sunday, October 22nd, starting at 1pm until the candy runs out, is the annual downtown businesses trick or treating!
Done In A Day: Project C.U.R.E. Completed
Saturday, March 18, 2023
By: Dr Barbara R Webster
The Rotary Club of Downers Grove presented Jessamyn Moore, Chicago Operations Director of Project C.U.R.E., a donation from the club. Pictured are (front row) Kim Morton, Jeanette Oakeshott, (back row) Ryan Knudsen, Richard Lam, Barb Webster, Jessamyn Moore, Lisa Rasin and Heath Mielke. Not pictured are Martin Tully, Shanon Tully and Cynthia Zaeske. Pictured below are members of the Rotary Club of Downers Grove, the Rotary Club of Woodridge and the Rotary Club of Northwest Chicago. The 3 clubs joined together to volunteer at Project C.U.R.E. on March 18th, 2023.
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Done In A Day: Project C.U.R.E.
RSVP - Project C.U.R.E. Done In A Day Project - 18-Mar-23Note: you do not have to be logged in to submit the RSVP.
Project C.U.R.E. is the world’s largest distributor of donated medical equipment and supplies to resource-limited communities across the globe, touching the lives of patients, families, and children in more than 135 countries. Project C.U.R.E. is continuing to provide humanitarian assistance to the people of Ukraine and is on standby to assist with any requests they receive for assistance with the ongoing military conflict in that country. Lucky for us, the Chicago branch of Project C.U.R.E. is in our own backyard, located at 10305 Argonne Drive, Suite 200, Woodridge, IL 60517. We have scheduled a volunteer work session for Saturday, March 18th, from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm.
NO MEDICAL KNOWLEDGE IS REQUIRED TO VOLUNTEER FOR THIS EVENT!! Please consider signing up as this organization does great work and this is a wonderful opportunity to help Project C.U.R.E. deliver medical equipment and supplies to those in greatest need around the world. Volunteers have to be a minimum of 14-years old, and those 14 - 17 years must be accompanied by an adult.
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Done in a Day: The Backpack Project
Saturday, February 25, 2023
What a fun time for a worthy cause! Over a dozen of our club members and friends spent Saturday morning making scarves for The Backpack Project. Ryan Gustis, a sophomore at DGN, spoke to our club on June 28 last year. Ryan continues to wow us with his service above self, this time letting us in on the joy of helping others.We made over 200 scarves, one of the costlier items in the backpacks he delivers to the homeless. Thanks to member Shanon Tully, we had a perfect space to work in the Platinum Partners conference room located above Emmett's.
The Backpack Project (#PackTheKindness) is a nonprofit organization working to fight against homelessness. It was started by Ryan Gustis, when he was about 10 years old after visiting the Macy's Christmas windows when he could not turn his back on the homeless people he saw on the streets. He talked to them, learned their stories and was compelled to help in someway. The Backpack project was born with 10 backpacks delivered that first year full of supplies. This year's goal is 675 backpacks! Ryan and the entire organization are working for a world where dignity and kindness are hand-delivered in the form of a backpack full of supplies.
Thank you all who helped make the day special!
Thank you all who helped make the day special!
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Family Shelter Services Done In A Day - December Project!
Friday, December 2, 2022
So much fun Friday night, December 2nd! The Rotary Club of Downers Grove scavenger hunt to benefit Family Shelter Service. Thank you to everyone who attended! Barb Webster presented Molly Durava of Metropolitan Family Services DuPage a $500 check and $20 cash from the Rotary Club of Downers Grove. Also included in the donation was ~$500 in product (toys, toiletries, hats, scarves, hats, gloves, gift cards and home goods).
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Grove Express - Community Service Project
Thursday, November 24, 2022
We are so proud to have almost 6000 runners/walkers yesterday at our second annual 5K run. Thank you to the volunteers that helped make the event so special. Every runner enjoyed the Rotary Bacon Station. Whether it’s the smell of bacon or the taste, it was once again a great tradition.Thank you Slav Polinski for the great pictures, more of which are on our FaceBook page. And thank you to The Baked Apple for their very generous donation of 45 pounds of bacon which helped in serving a total of 4500 pieces of bacon!
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Halloween Window Painting - Done In A Day!
What a beautiful day for our October Done In A Day Project - Halloween Window Painting. Joined by over 30 student volunteers from the Downers Grove North Empowerment Club and the St. Joe's Football Team. Hosted by Rotary Club of Downers Grove and the Downers Grove Downtown Management Corp, families brought over a ton of donations for Downers Grove Area FISH.
Halloween Window Painting 2023 - Done In A Day!
Saturday, October 21, 2023
What a beautiful day for our October Done In A Day Project - Halloween Window Painting! Joined by volunteers from the St. Joseph's Football Team, the Rotary Club of Downers Grove and the Downers Grove Downtown Management Corp, families brought over a ton of donations for Downers Grove Area FISH! Our Club also made a $2,500 donation!Thank you all!
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